After Christmas…Now What
Matthew 2:13-15
Introduction
Well, Christmas day has come and it has gone…and I do hope you guys had a wonderful day filled with awe of God’s grace and mercy and the love of family and friends.
We had Brigitte’s parents down from Cincinnati, and they are here with us today…and of course that made the day a little more special for us.
I love Christmas, and I think part of the love of the holiday is the expectation.
At our house we have a little 24 day calendar that counts down from the beginning of the month to Christmas morning.
You noticed we don’t have those for any other holidays?
You never hear “Only 10 more shopping days until Halloween”.
And there is not a “Black Friday” leading up to Mother’s Day.
But Christmas…it is an event that you prepare for and count down to.
Think about it, New Years Day is just days away…and when do we start the countdown?
For some people that day, for many a couple of hours before, but for most of us it is the last 30 seconds.
There really is something special about Christmas and the expectation leading up to it.
But the bad thing about that expectation, it ends.
You get up, watch the kids with gifts, make phone calls, eat that special meal, grab that important nap, watch the Lakers beat the Celtics, and then go to bed.
The next day you wake up and it’s, well…it’s the next day.
This year it was a Friday.
Next year it will be a Saturday.
Basically it’s just a day and it is easy to ask, “OK, what now?”
And here we are today, and our question is “After Christmas…what now?
Let’s look at Scripture to see what it has to say to us about this.
Read Matthew 2:13-15 and pray
Transition:
The birth of Christ was drama filled from top to bottom.
It began with a virgin being told that she is pregnant and having to break that news to her family and her fiancée.
It was followed by the revelation to Joseph that this was of God and his acceptance of this situation…and their trip to Bethlehem.
Keep in mind this trip was initiated by a king who was constantly checking his back for daggers, and the purpose was to find out who each and every child was so that he can protect his throne.
While there they had to resort to a barn and a manger for the birth of Jesus, only to return home and have what to most would seem like a strange visit…magi from the east.
But lets be honest, after being visited by angels…how weird could that have been?
Their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh set off a series of events that would put this young family on the run.
Herod was now letting his fear of losing power take over, and he was killing off every child under the age of 2…which he knew of because of the census.
And in verse 13 we are told that an angel of the Lord once again appeared and told Joseph, “Get up…(read verse).”
Such a huge build up to the birth of Christ and just when they thought things were settling down and they ask “What now?”…they get the answer.
For us, we have such a build up to Christmas day…but just 24 hours later is a whole new day that can make you ask, “What now?”
By looking to the family of Christ and their flight to Egypt we can find a possible answer to that question.
First of all, you need to…
1. Listen for God
Read vs. 13 again.
You’ve got to believe that by this point, if Joseph and Mary were not in the habit of listening for the voice of God to speak to them…something had to be wrong.
But it would appear that listening for God in their lives had become second nature.
Also notice, I could have said “listen to God”…and I do believe we need to listen to God; but you can’t listen to God unless you realize that He is speaking to you.
So first you need to listen for God.
That is the first problem…the actual hearing.
You can’t listen if you aren’t willing to hear.
And it is way too easy to not hear when you zone out.
Have you ever zoned out?
You know what I’m talking about…maybe during that big game or your favorite TV show, you are so enthralled in it you don’t hear anything going on around you.
Or maybe you are so distracted by all the noise around you, you miss out on what is being said right next to you.
The fact is we need to train ourselves to listen for God because it is so easy to be distracted.
And until we learn to listen for God we can never listen to God.
You’ve got to start by listening.
Read 1 Kings 19:1-12…describe as you are reading.
God wasn’t heard in the obvious, but in what according to vs. 12?
A voice, a small whisper.
The still, small voice.
You have to train your ears to hear that still small voice.
If not you are liable to miss it in the midst of the storms and the circumstances.
Are you listening?
After Christmas, especially as we enter into the New Year we need to listen for God.
A second key to answering our question of “What now” is that we need to…
2. Expect Obstacles
Read vs. 13b
Joseph found himself fleeing with his wife and her child as King Herod decided this power was more valuable than human life.
After all they had gone through for the first few months they were a family, I’m sure Mary and Joseph were looking forward to a time of calm.
It wasn’t going to happen.
The obstacles they previously faced may have paled in comparison to them having to run for their lives.
This is a reminder to us that we should expect obstacles.
If you haven’t realized it yet, here is a news flash for you:
• There are going to be speed bumps in the road.
• You are going to have to detour from time to time.
• Obstacles can and will come at the inopportune time.
• Things will not, will not, WILL NOT always go the way you expect…if ever.
You should expect obstacles in your life.
If that is the case, what kind of obstacles can we expect?
A. People
People are going to be stumbling blocks and obstacles to us, sometimes meaning to trip us up, sometimes not meaning to.
Read Romans 14:13, “Therefore, let us not longer criticize one another, but instead decide not to put stumbling block or pitfall in your brother’s way.”
This is a warning to us not to be an obstacle to others, but should also be a warning to us not to allow others to be an obstacle either.
Just because you are on the Lord’s side doesn’t mean every one else will be…sometimes even those who claim to follow Christ.
Along with people there will be…
B. Problems
Problems will arise in our life, and what is the first reaction we tend to have?
Worry.
Jesus warned us about letting worry strangle the life out of us in Matthew 6:25-34.
Worry will kill you…if not physically by causing physical symptoms; it will kill you spiritually and emotionally.
It can and will suck all the life out of you if you all problems to be an obstacle.
Along with people and problems, you also have to deal with…
C. Persecution
Jesus also addressed this in the Sermon on the Mount.
Read Matthew 5:43-44.
If you are living the life God intended for you to live you should face persecution.
You should expect those who are not part of the kingdom of God to question you and your beliefs…and move on from there.
While we may never face the persecution being faced by believers in Iran or China…we should have those in the world snubbing their noses at us because of who we are in Christ.
Persecution should be the norm, but should not be an obstacle to us.
Finally, along with people, problems and persecution, we can’t all one last thing to be an obstacle:
D. Priorities
And to be more specific, wrong priorities.
How about if we stick in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 6:33.
What are your priorities in life?
What is your main thing?
It has often been said that the main thing should be to keep the main thing the main thing.
Is your main thing God and His kingdom and His will being lived out in your life?
If not, you can expect that to be an obstacle.
What are your obstacles that is keeping your from being all that God intends for you to be and you doing all that God intends for you to do?
So, what now?
Well, we’ve said listen for God, we said avoid obstacles and third…
3. Be Flexible
Read vs. 14.
Do you think after the ordeal they had in Bethlehem, once Joseph got Mary and Jesus home and settled in one of the first things he wanted to do was escape in the night out of fear of death?
Of course not!
His dreams of a happy family seemed to finally becoming a reality, in spite of the scenario of playing the role of dad for the son of God.
At the very least I’m sure he had a sense of normalcy setting in…only to have God say “Go!”
From the very beginning Joseph was required to be flexible.
Rigidness would never work, only the ability to bend would keep him from breaking.
When I was a summer missionary in the summers of 1992 and 1993 the first lesson we were taught in orientation was simple: be flexible and pray A LOT!
Why? Because you had to learn to expect any thing and every thing.
And for Joseph, being “step-dad” to the Son of God probably came with a mutual understanding that you should expect anything and every thing.
It is one thing to have convictions, but another thing to be so rigid that you break at the first bit of stress.
In fact, I want you to notice what the Bible says about being too rigid…turn to Acts 7...
Tell story of Stephen, one of the first deacons in the early church chosen by the Apostles and his message.
Complete Gospel presentation given from Moses to Jesus…but they resisted.
Now look in Acts 7:51.
How flexible are you?
Is your rigidness keeping the Spirit of God from working in your life?
We must be flexible.
And finally this morning, when we ask “What now…” along with being flexible, avoiding obstacles and listening for God we should…
4. Rely on God’s Word
Read vs. 15
So that the prophet might be fulfilled, this one found in Hosea 11:1.
Time and time again we read that phrase over and over again in relation to the life of Christ.
How and where He was born, how and where He lived, how and where He died…all found in the prophecies found in the word of God.
Meaning either a lot of coincidences took place, or every event was a God-incident…I choose to believe the latter.
You see, over the last 6000 years since the first words were penned in this book…one thing has never changed, and that is this Word.
In fact, listen to what this Word says in both the OT and the NT:
Read Isa. 40:8 and 1 Pet. 1:24-25.
That is why we can rely on the Word of God…it has proven to be faithful, correct and accurate.
It has not and will not steer us wrong, and never will.
And when we ask, “What now”…His word will never fail us.
Transition:
Christmas has come and gone for this year…so, what now?
You don’t have to be left in the dark if you are in the light…are you?
Have you found your faith in Christ alone for your salvation?
Acts 4:12, “No other name under heaven…”
If you have found salvation that comes by grace through faith, are you living it out?
